My first fountain pen!

[Rolandranch]

I made this Majestic Jr. out of black and gold matrix tru-stone and the only trouble I had was drilling the blanks out. When ever I drill through tru-stone the drill bit blows the ends out. I've tried using brad-point and standard drill bits but neither of them give me a clean hole at the end. On this pen, however, I left enough room so that the blow-out did not affect it. I appreciate any tips or advice.

 

[mecompco]

Looks nice! I think the proscribed way to avoid blowout is to make the blank a little long, don't drill through the end, then cut it to length. I've also (though it's probably not recommened) is to drill half-way through, reverse the blank in the lathe (making sure to keep it oriented the same in the chuck) then drill through the other half. Just some thoughts.

Regards,
Michael

 

[larrystephens]

Beautiful pen,

When using trustone, I always CA glue a small wood block on the end of the blank before drilling. I then bandsaw it off after drilling.

 

[vakmere]

They look elegant together. Good job, nice save. FWIW when I get near the end of the blank be it trustone or acrylic I'll put a couple drops of water in the hole to keep the bit cool also have my dust collector 4" duct right against the bit to remove any heat build up.